In recent years, techniques of attaching an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag, which is comprised of an IC chip for storing a variety of information and a communication antenna connected to the IC chip, to a label that is affixed to various products, and using the RFID tag to perform various types of automatic identification through wireless, non-contact communication with a reader/writer, have become widespread.
FIG. 68 shows a label L to which an RFID tag T is attached. The label L is comprised of a display layer U and an adhesive layer B. The RFID tag T is attached to a rear surface of the display layer U, and the labels L are temporarily adhered to a strip-form backing sheet D in sequence.
The RFID tag T is comprised of an IC chip Ta and a communication antenna Tb, and is protected by a film layer P that covers the entire RFID tag T.
An apparatus proposed previously by the applicant of the present application is known as a conventional example of a label affixing apparatus for affixing the label L with the attached RFID tag T to a product (see Patent Document 1 below).
In this apparatus, the label L is conveyed while it is temporarily adhered to the backing sheet D. After being peeled away from the backing sheet D, the label L is aspirated or suctioned by a suction plate in a predetermined suction position, and after being aspirated by the suction plate, the label L is affixed to the product in a predetermined affixation position.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-104521
With the label L affixed by a conventional label affixing apparatus such as that described above, when the material or content of the product to which the label L is to be affixed is such that electromagnetic waves are blocked by the product, for example when the material or content of the product includes metal or a liquid such as water, electromagnetic waves are absorbed into the product due to the effect of the metal or liquid such as water contained in the product or the waves are distorted by irregular reflection. As a result, it may be impossible to read and write the information on the IC chip Ta using a reader/writer. This phenomenon depends on the frequency of the RFID tag T, but is particular likely to occur with a UHF band RFID tag T.